Students who speak local varieties (i.e., dialects) of English that differ from the codified variety promoted in school are at a disadvantage. Research illustrates that differences in sound systems, grammar, vocabulary, and usage can negatively affect literacy development and achievement in math and science, and lead to misunderstandings and changes in teacher attitudes toward students. Moreover, the use of inappropriate assessment tools may result in unnecessary pathologization and inappropriate pedagogical approaches. Since many Indigenous children may speak local varieties, it is reasonable to assume that the same issues that hinder school success for speakers of other varieties affect many Indigenous students in Canada in similar ways. However, to date, research concerning Indigenous Englishes in Canada is scant. Similarly, virtually no empirical evidence has been gathered on use in Canadian schools. By extension, the trajectory of use of features as children progress through grades remains unknown. The goal of this research was to begin to address the crucial necessity of learning more about Indigenous English varieties, in order that appropriate language assessment and pedagogical practices can be implemented. The research, conducted in a remote community in Northern British Columbia, Canada, concentrates on differences in grammar used by a group of First Nations school-aged children. I analyzed oral narrative language samples of Kindergarteners, and oral and written narrative language samples of students in Kindergarten to Grade 5, over a three-year period. Results reveal the presence of at least 23 distinct grammatical features, many of which may have been influenced by the structure of the ancestral language. At school entry, students used grammatical features at high rates, regardless of whether or not they later required speech-language pathology or special education services. As children progressed through the grades, the rate at which they produced features appeared to follow a curvilinear trajectory, declining until grades 3 and 4 and then gradually rising again in middle school. A preference for using shorter sentences with less use of subordination and embedding of clauses also appears to be a feature of this variety. Most of the features the children used in their speech, they also used in their writing. Children had the most difficulty switching to standard English forms of verb tense, and so verb tense may require more direct instruction. While my results may not be directly generalizable to other First Nations communities, it is anticipated that educators will use them as a guide in their practice and instruction, so they can cease confusing features of a local variety with errors requiring “correction”, avoid unnecessary pathologization, and adjust expectations regarding the rate at which children can be expected to acquire the codified standard language model. It is also hoped that this study will contribute to the preservation and celebration of the unique ways of speaking English that have evolved in northern communities. / Graduate / 2021-09-16

This review of the literature was in investigation of informal measures used to assess syntax in normal-language and language-impaired, school-aged children. From the eighteen studies that were researched in this review of the literature, 86 measures and their variants were reviewed. Data concerning the T-unit, the most widely used measure for determining syntactic maturity was reviewed as well. Any findings uncovered regarding the syntactic skills of normal - language and/or language-impaired, school - aged children were summarized (typically on the basis of ability level, age or grade level, and sex). In addition, the strengths and weaknesses in previous studies of oral syntactic maturity in either normal-language or language - impaired, school- aged children was discussed. This was done by systematically reviewing indicators of study quality.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This study explored the perspectives of Black mothers and daughters as they contemplated how two institutions ---schools and prisons/jails -- influenced their relationship with one another. As the incarceration rates for Black females increase in the U.S., examinations of these perspectives can produce insights about the impacts of schools and jails/prisons on the lives of these girls and women, and more pointedly, about the perceived contributions of racist and misogynistic forces on the Black mother-Black daughter relationship. Three pairs of mother-daughter dyads were selected and interviewed for the study. The daughters were Black middle school-aged girls between the ages 10 and 14, and the mothers were of varying ages. Two specific research questions centered on: (1) the participants’ perceptions of how these institutions have had an influence mother and daughter relationships, and (2) how they dealt with problems they faced either separately or together that were associated with school (for both participants in the dyad) and/or that resulted from the jail/prison experience (for the mother). Interviews were analyzed using phenomenological research methods and metaanalyzed from a critical feminist framework. Findings show that both mother and daughter have been resourceful in maintaining strong ties despite the array of forces that challenged these unions. Participants from both sides of these mothers and daughters dyads expressed how mothers’ parenting styles, lifestyle decisions, and self-perceptions were effected by the institutions of schooling and criminal justice. Although the findings of the study offered a glimpse of participants’ perspectives on racism and sexism as forces that influenced their experiences, the relationship issues between them were most prevalent. Further research is recommended to uncover more of the intricacies of sexism and racism as they relate to relationships and personal issues of Black, formerly incarcerated mothers and their pre-teen and teenaged daughters.

No description available.

A subsample of 478 children who originally participated in a larger study (Tomblin et al., 1997) was examined for type and frequency of morphological noun and verb errors in oral and written narratives in 2nd and 4th grade. Each child represented one of four groups: Typical Language, Specific Language Impairment, Nonspecific Language Impairment, and Low Nonverbal IQ. Three MANOVA's and post-hoc comparisons were used to test three predictions: (1) children will have more difficulty with verb than noun morphology; (2) children will make more errors in the written than the spoken narratives; and (3) children whose language impairments persist will produce more morphological errors than children whose language problems appear to resolve. Analyses supported the first two predictions but not the third. Results are discussed in relation to levels of morphological mastery, language development and processing demands. Clinical implications of the study are presented.

Childhood obesity is a prevalent problem in the United States. Obesity increases the risk for many diseases. Obese children are likely to become obese adults with additional comorbidities. Studies have reported mixed findings regarding associations between reading nutrition labels and improved dietary behaviors/healthy weight status. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the frequency of children reading nutrition labels is related to frequency of performing 12 dietary behaviors. De-identified baseline data from a previous quasiexperimental pilot study were analyzed. Data were collected from 4th and 5th graders (n = 42) at an after-school program. An adapted paper survey was administered to the children to measure the number of days (0–7) they read nutrition labels and performed 12 dietary behaviors over the preceding week. Due to non-normal distribution of data, non-parametric Spearman rho correlations were conducted to determine relationships between frequency of reading nutrition labels and dietary behaviors. Positive correlations were found between frequency of reading nutrition labels and eating fruit for breakfast; eating vegetables at lunch/dinner; eating whole grain/multigrain bread (p < .05); eating fruit for a snack; eating vegetables for a snack (p < .01). Frequency of reading nutrition labels was inversely related to drinking soda/sugar-sweetened beverages (p < .05). Significant relationships were found between frequency of reading nutrition labels and several dietary behaviors associated with childhood obesity prevention. Findings are promising and support the need for further intervention research to determine potential direct influences of children reading nutrition labels on dietary behaviors.

No description available.

Over the past three decades, obesity rates for children ages 2-5 years have doubled from 5% to 10% and children ages 6-11 years have more than tripled from 4% to over 15%. Adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables in the diet are necessary to reduce increased risks associated with long term inadequate consumption of these foods. Grant recipients received funds to purchase a sectionizer and slicer to prepare more attractive fruits and vegetables for school food service lines. Through the use of a descriptive survey, recipients reported a significant reduction in workload on staff and an increase in the amounts of fruits and vegetables children took from service lines after these foods were prepared using this equipment. Using equipment designed to increase convenience or enhance appearance of fruits and vegetables in school food service operations may increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables provided to children through child nutrition programs.

At a time when problems faced by youth and families are complex and multi-faceted, organizations serving this audience have limited resources and find single-agency, categorical approaches inadequate. Collaboration offers communities a process to create solutions that are holistic and maximize resources. The purposes of this study were to examine factors necessary for collaboration and to assess barriers and incentives for these relationships. Case study methodology was applied to a rural community child care collaborative in Fauquier County, Virginia. All members who had ever served on the Board of Directors for this collaborative program were surveyed. The theoretical basis for research were 19 factors associated 'Nith collaboration identified by Mattessich & Monsey (1992). Respondents were asked to determine to what extent they considered these factors to be important and to what extent they were evident in the collaboration studied. In addition, open ended questions probed barriers and incentives for collaboration as experienced by respondents. / Master of Science

This thesis examines the efficacy of a social communication intervention in increasing the emotion word productions in school-aged children with language impairment (LI). The study had a multiple baseline single subject design in which 5 children between the ages of 6 and 11 received 20 intervention sessions, each lasting 20 minutes. Intervention activities included reading and discussing children's books, enacting the stories using toys, and journal writing to reflect on experiences in each session. Emotion word productions during intervention sessions were coded for total productions within the categories of happiness, anger, sadness, fear, surprise, and disgust. Productions were also coded for type (spontaneous, in response to a question, cued, or imitated) and valence agreement. The percentage of non-overlapping data (PND) was calculated (measuring the overall percentage of sessions in which the participants produced more emotion words than they did in the baseline session with the most emotion word productions) in order to show efficacy of the intervention for each participant. According to PND calculations, the intervention was generally effective for 3 of the 5 children and was effective in at least one emotion category for each participant. Participants demonstrated no difficulties with valence agreement. Data regarding types of production indicated that the majority of emotion word productions during the intervention were elicited in some way rather than spontaneous. These results suggest that children with LI increased the number of emotion word productions during the intervention, but were still dependent upon the scaffolding provided by the intervention.